The Northeast Biodefense Center is a Regional Center of Excellence for Research in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases that represents more than 350 investigators in more than 30 institutions in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The mission of Administrative Core is to promote research and training programs in biodefense by distributing awards for research and career development, supporting core facilities, and facilitating communication and collaboration through meetings and electronic media. The Core has three sites, one at Columbia University, where the Director and Principal Investigator (Lipkin), and Associate Director (Diane McFadden) coordinate scientific, fiscal and communicative aspects of the program, a second site at the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health, where the Wadsworth Center Liaison (Harry Taber) and Public Health Liaison (Lawrence Sturman) coordinate the Developmental Projects and Career Development Programs as well as Emergency Response Planning, and a third at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where the Deputy Director (Arturo Casadevall) works closely with the Director in coordinating the Center and monitors the Animal, Expression and Proteomics cores. The Administrative Core reports to a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the lead institutions: the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Columbia University, Cornell University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York University, The Rockefeller University, SUNY Stony Brook, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Wadsworth Center and Yale University. The Administrative Core pursues an annual review of NBC performance considering such metrics as publications, inventions, meetings and training course offered and attended, scientists recruited and/or trained in biodefense research, intra- and inter-RCE collaborations fostered, and Scientific Advisory Board and NBC member evalutions. Every two years, in consultation with NIAID program staff, the Core engages an outside entity for a formal independent assessment of center performance.